This is how to leverage podcasting as a low-budget marketing tool.
Discover how two entrepreneurs used unconventional business strategies to turn their startup into a multimillion-dollar company.
4 min read
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I have been on over 75 podcasts in the past year, sharing my story about MASAMI, the clean premium haircare brand I co-founded in February 2020. That’s right, 75 and counting!
While being a guest on podcasts may seem difficult and intimidating, I’m here to tell you that it’s actually quite easy. There are a lot of advantages to incorporating podcasts in your marketing plan. First, podcasts are a great way to tell a holistic brand story (much harder to do with digital ads and our short attention span).
Good podcasts are like binge-worthy Netflix shows — once you stumble on one you love, you’re likely to listen to all of the previous episodes. The beauty of podcasts is that they are evergreen, so they are discoverable long after you record the episodes.
Additionally, podcasts can give people a sense of the people behind the business — transparency has become a mandate these days as people want to understand the founders, their values and their story. Podcasts are also a great source of content. You’ll get long-form content that you can use on your social channels (and if the podcast is also video, you can post it on YouTube). You can also take snippets and soundbites to push out across Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Finally, the search engines will love the content — which helps your SEO.
Related: Top 25 Business Podcasts for Entrepreneurs
So, how do you go about being a guest? The first step to being a guest is understanding what you can comfortably (and expertly) have a conversation about. For me, topics include launching a business, brand positioning, juggling kids and work, clean beauty, haircare, wellness, female empowerment, marketing tips, leadership advice and career pivots. Luckily, there are loads of podcasts on all of these topics and the numbers keep growing. In fact, nearly 900,000 podcasts launched globally in 2020.
Next, you need to pitch yourself to podcast hosts. Fortunately, this isn’t as hard as it seems. Many podcasts have websites where you can submit an application to be a guest. Lots of podcasts also rely on networking and communities such as Facebook groups to find guest. Poddit has a “Find a guest, Be a guest” Facebook group you can join. You’ll see the “asks” by podcasts hosts for guests to speak about specific topics. You are sure to find ones that are relevant to you. You can also submit your “Be a guest” profile and see who is interested in having you on their podcast.
Related: Podcast Advertising: Is Programmatic the Next Big Thing?
You just got accepted to your first podcast. Congrats! Here are a few tips to make sure you’re prepared:
That’s it! See, it’s really not so hard. You’ll find that it gets easier and easier the more you do. The key is to just get started. You’ll be happy that you’ve unlocked an entirely new storytelling channel for your business.
